Flash lamps



Feb 5, 1957 K. BERTRAMS 2,730,720

. FLASH LAMPS Filed April 28,1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l K. BERTRAMS Feb. 5,1957 FLASH LAMPS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 28. 1954 jnvent'ar KUAT$(A77FAMJ FLASH LAWS Kurt-Bertram, Hilden, Rhineland, GermanyApplicationApril 2a, 1954, Serial No. 42mm Claims priority, applicationGermany January 9, 1954 6 Claims. (Cl. Mil-15) This invention relates toa flash lamp having a reflector which can be opened and closedinfan-like fashion for the artificial illumination of photographicexposures. Flash lamps with. reflectors consisting of sector-shapedparts which can be folded together and opened are known. in the knownconstructions the individual sectors can be swung about a common pivotinto the posi-' tion of use inwhich they are spreadout fan-wise and forma complete circle and, after use, can be swung back so that they aredisposed one above another. The individual sectors are connected in sucha manner that they hold together when they are opened and closed.

As distinguished therefrom, according to the present invention, areflector which can be opened and closed in fan-like fashion is arrangedon a lamp mount which is rotatable in the casing of the flash lamp andis used to open and close the individual reflector sectors, the casinghaving a cover, the shape of which conforms to that of the casingwhereby the reflector sectors, when closed, are enclosed.

The uppermost of the reflector sectors is connected to the lamp mountand the lowermost, which acts at the same time as a cover for thebattery chamber, is connected to' the casing of the flash lamp, whereasthe remaining sectors of the reflector are coupled together in knownmanner.

The lamp mount is rotated by a disc having a milled edge which passesthrough oppositely situated slots in the casing and, therefore, caneasily be gripped from the outside. The lamp mount is in the form of ahollow cylinder having a fiat side portion which penetrates and forms anopening in the wall of the mount and which, when the reflector isopened, is in flat engagement with a leafspring provided with alongitudinal slot, whereby the lamp mount is secured against rotationand a pin of the lamp bulb enters the slot through the opening in thewall of the mount so as to secure the lamp bulb against ejection by anejecting spring.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the removal of theclosure cap or cover and the opening of the reflector sectors take placeautomatically in that, for example, the cap, which is hinged to thecasing, and also the lamp mount, are subject to spring action. Thisenables the opening of the closure cap to be combined with the openingof the reflector sectors. For this purpose the arrangement may be suchthat the closure cap, on opening, depresses a button whereby theleaf-spring, which is formed as an angle lever is moved away from thelamp mount, so that the mount is rotated under spring action and thereflector sectors are opened. Since the lamp mount can be turned backagainst the action of its spring only intermittently or in steps whenthe milled edge of the disc is grasped, the lamp mount is provided atits periphery with ratchet teeth which engage in the longitudinal slotin the leaf-spring.

Further, the locking of the cover and of the lamp mount can be effectedby a common pin which is provided with a hand-operated button andarranged laterally on the casing. The pressure pin acts on the springwhich locks 2,780,720 Fatented eh. 5, 1957 F ICC,

the lamp bulb in the lamp mount and also co-operates with a lockingspringfor the cover. The arrangement is such that, on actuating thehand-operated'button, the cover is first released for opening and theleaf-spring is then moved away from the lam'pf mount, so, that thereflector is opened.

Various embodiments of the invention are illustrated byway of example inthe drawings in which:

Figure l isa part section through a flash lamp having a rotatablelamprnount and a reflector which can be opened and closed in fanfashion;

Figure 2 is a sideelevation of Fig. l with the closure cap removed,showing thereflector in closed condition in solid lines and in openconditionin dotted lines;

Figure 3 is a section on the line A-A of Fig. 1 through the leaf-springand lamp mount, with the reflector in open position;

Figure 4 is a. similar section to Fig. 3, with the reflector in closedposition;

Figure 5 is a section through a flash lamp. having a rotatable lampmount and a reflector which can be opened and closedin fan fashion, thelamp mount'and.

Figure 7 is a section similar to Fig. 6, with the reflector in openposition;

Figure 8 is a side elevation of aflash lamp in which.

the closure cap andlamp mount are actuated by a pinv and locking spring;

Figure 9 is a detailview of part of Fig. 8, and Figure lO-is a planof-part of'Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawings, the lamp mount is rotat-- ablyv mounted inthe casing i and reflector sectors are arranged concentrically on themount '2. The upper most. sector 3a is fixed; by pins i to the lampmount and the lowermost sector 3b is fixed by pins 5 to the casing.Thereflector, therefore, serves as a cover for a battery cham-- ber. Theclosed reflector is covered by a cover 6 which may contain, for example,a holder 612 (see Fig. 5) for flash and testing lamps, the syruihronising cable and so forth. The rotary movement of the lamp mount is effected by meansof a disc 7 having a milled edge which protrudes throughopposite slots inthe casing and can be easily grasped by, the hand. Aleaf-spring 10 provided with a longitudinal slot acts as a brake and forfixing the lamp mount in position. The spring ltl bears tangentiallyagainst the lamp mount. At'theplace where it is in contact with theleaf-spring the lamp mount has a flat 11, forming an opening 12in themount at this place. When the reflector is opened the leaf-spring liesflush with the flat 11 (Fig. 3) and the longitudinal slot 9 and opening12 coincide. Only in this position can the lamp be introduced into themount against the action of the ejecting spring 14. and fixed byengaging the pin 15 on the base of the lamp in the longitudinal slot 9.On rotating the lamp mount back again, or on closing the reflector, theleaf-spring is pressed away by the lower edge of. the flat and the pin15 disengaged from the slot 9 in the leaf-spring. The lamp is n ow underthe action of the ejecting spring 14 and is ejected by it. Theleaf-spring assumes the same position also when the reflector is closed(Fig. 4), and this is an advantage because a flash bulb or testing bulbcan never remain in the closed apparatus and, therefore, the battery andcondenser cannot be unintentionally discharged.

According to Figures 5-7, the lamp mount 2a is under the action of atorsion spring 16 and the hinge 17 connecting the casing and the cover6a is under the action of the torsion spring 18. The cover is held inthe closed position against the action of the spring 18 by a catch 19.The leaf-spring 10a is formed as an angle lever which is pivoted at 20and is under the action of a tension spring 21 and a press-button 22.The lamp mount has ratchet teeth 23 which engage in the longitudinalslot 9a of the leaf-spring. The method of operation of theabove-mentioned device is as follows.

After opening the catch 19 the cover 6a springs into the positionillustrated in dotted lines (Fig. and momentarily overcomes the pressureof the spring 21 under the action of the opening shock on the pressbutton 22. The lever a is turned about its pivot and frees the lampmount 2a so that the reflector is opened, after which the angle levertakes up the position illustrated in Fig. 7, under the action of thespring 21 which acts in opposition to the push button and the cover.Thelamp bulb can then be introduced and fixed in the manner shown inFig. 3. The ejection of the lamp takes place in the same way as in theconstruction shown in Figs. 1-4 by turning back the lamp mount, thebackward rotation being facilitated by the intermittent engagement ofthe ratchet teeth 23 in the longitudinal slot 9a.

In the modification of Figs. 8-10, a pin 25 actuated by a button or knob24 is used for operating the leaf-spring 10a, and a locking spring 26 isused for locking the cover 6a. The pin 25 is acted upon by the lockingspring 26. Both springs are so arranged and dimensioned that, onpressing the knob 24, the cover 6a is first unlocked and, when this isopened, the leaf-spring 10a is actuated. Since the leaf-spring also actsas a holding member for the lamp socket, the ejection of the bulb canalso take place by operating the pin 25.

I claim:

1. A flash lamp comprising a casing, a cover for said casing, a mountfor a lamp bulb rotatable in said casing, said mount presenting a flatside having an aperture, a leaf-spring bearing against said flat sideand presenting a slot, a disc secured to said mount having an outerperiphery projecting through slots in said casing, a plurality ofreflector sectors nested in fanlike fashion in said casing and pivotedon said bulb mount, said sectors being operable into unfolded and intofolded positions in response to rotation of said disc and said bulbmount and said leaf-spring being in fiat engagement with said flat side,and said slot and opening being coincident for the unfolded position ofsaid sectors. 7

2. A flash lamp comprising a casing, a cover hinged to said casing,spring means urging said cover into an open position and means forretaining said cover closed against the action of said spring, a mountfor a lamp bulb rotatable in said casing, spring means biased to rotatesaid mount and means restraining said lamp mount against rotation bysaid spring, a plurality of reflector sectors nested in fanlike fashionin said casing and pivoted on said bulb mount, said reflector sectorsbeing operable into unfolded and folded positions in response torotation of said mount, and means including a spring and a lever armwhereby said restraining means is automatically released in response torelease of said cover retaining means to operate said cover urgingspring means.

3. A flash lamp comprising a casing, a cover hinged to said casing, aSpring urging said cover into open position and means for holding saidcover closed against the action of said spring, a mount for a lamp bulbrotatable in said casing, a spring biased in said housing and disposedaround said bulb mount operable to rotate said mount, a plurality ofreflector sectors nested in fanlike fashion in said casing and pivotedon said bulb mount, said bulb mount being of generally cylindrical shapeand presenting a flat side defining an opening, a leaf-spring bearing onsaid flat side, a slot in said leaf-spring, a disc secured to said mounthaving an edge projecting through slots in said casing, said leaf-springhaving flat sided engagement with said fiat side, and said slot andopening being coincident for the operative position of said bulb mountthereby providing an aperture to receive a pin projecting from the flashbulb.

4. A flash lamp comprising a casing, a mount for a lamp bulb rotatablein said casing, a plurality of reflector sectors nested in fanlikefashion in said casing and pivoted on said bulb mount, said reflectorsectors being operable into unfolded and folded positions in response torotation of said bulb mount, locking means adapted to retain a lamp bulbin said mount for the unfolded position of said reflector sectors and anejector spring disposed adjacent said mount and biased against said lampbulb, operative upon rotation of said sectors by said bulb mount tofolded position and release of said locking means to eject said lampbulb automatically.

5. A flash lamp comprising a casing, a mount for a lamp bulb rotatablein said casing, a plurality of reflector sectors nested in fanlikefashion in said casing and pivoted on said bulb mount, said reflectorsectors being operable into unfolded and folded positions in response torotation of said bulb mount, locking means adapted to retain a lamp bulbin said mount for the unfolded position of said reflector sectors and anejector spring disposed adjacent said mount and biased against said lampbulb, operative upon rotation of said sectors by said bulb mount tofolded position and release of said locking means to eject said lampbulb automatically, said lamp mount being of generally cylindrical shapeand said retaining means comprising a flat side on said mount, anopening in said flat side, a leaf-spring bearing against said mount, anda slot in said leaf-spring, said opening and slot being in registry forthe unfolded position of said reflector sectors thereby providing anaperture to receive a pin projecting from the flash bulb.

6. A flash lamp comprising a casing, a cover hinged to said casing,spring means urging said cover into an open position and means forretaining said cover closed against the action of said spring, a mountfor a lamp bulb rotatable in said casing, spring means biased to rotatesaid mount and means restraining said lamp mount against rotation bysaid spring, a plurality of reflector sectors nested in fanlike fashionin said casingand pivotedon said bulb mount, said reflector sectorsbeing operable into unfolded and folded positions in response torotation of said mount, and means including a springvand a lever armwhereby said restraining means is automatically released in response torelease of said cover retaining means to operate said cover urgingspring means, and a manually-operable pin having operative engagementwith said restraining means for said mount and said coverretainingmeans.

References Cited in the file of this patent

